Chapter 22 | The Shak and the rotting fountain.

The Figure turned around in the light, to reveal it was the guy back in the Prime District who wore a mask with polka dot cheeks. Steven immediately recognized him and knew it wasn't a demon. He looked a little bit older than Steven; he was eighteen years old. He wore a black long-sleeved shirt and black sweatpants. He was fairly slim but taller than Steven.

"Demon?" The guy questioned, "Can't you see I'm trying to feed this cute dog?"

A puppy hid behind his feet, and growled at Steven. The guy was also holding meat in his hand, which wasn't a weapon.

"It's okay doggy, this ugly child won't hurt you." The guy said petting the dog and ignoring Steven.

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" Steven yelled with an insulted face.

The dog stopped growling feeling assured of the guys protection over it. And Chris finally caught up with Steven and recognized the stranger.

"Steven, why did you run off like that?" Chris questioned Steven.

"Because uhm, uh, I thought this guy was an uh, demon..." Steven said with a shy tone.

"HAHA! HE THOUGHT YOU WERE A DEMON!" Chris laughed pointing at the stranger.

"SHUT UP CHILD!" The guy said with an angered tone. "YOU LOOK LIKE A DEMON!"

"Haha! anyways, Steven, this is Shak." Chris stated. "He doesn't like telling people his real name."

"My name's Steven and well, I'm sorry, Shak." Steven apologized. "I didn't know you were a human."

"Nah it's cool," Shak said.

Then, Hiroshi approached the three from behind. With his Axe in hand.

"Steven, is there a problem?" Hiroshi asked. "I saw you running."

"Oh, it's nothing," Steven answered. "Everyone, this is Hiroshi, Hiroshi this is Chris and Shak."

"Yo," Shak said greeting Hiroshi.

"Hello!" Chris said greeting Hiroshi as well.

The wall suddenly rumbled behind them, and Chris could sense something immediately, and so did Shak. A demon sprang from behind Shak with its mouth wide open. Shak responded by turning around with intense speed and unsheathed the sword on his waist. He slashed the demon's throat, killing it before anyone had the chance to move.

The demon collapsed on the floor with its head sliced off. It bled yellow blood which was unusual for a demon since they usually bled black blood.

"Yellow blood?" Chris said approaching the demon's corpse and examining it. "That's odd?"

"Could it be infected?" Steven asked.

"Demons can't become sick, although they can be poisoned," Chris answered.

"Well, that's surely disgusting!" Shak said petting the puppy.

"You sure like dogs..." Hiroshi muttered.

"THAT WAS SO BADASS THOUGH!" Steven said with lit-up eyes, praising Shak. "THE WAY YOU MOVED SO FAST!"

"Haha! Oh, it was nothing!" Shak said scratching his head and blushing.

"But we can see you blushing even over that mask..." Hiroshi muttered.

"Well, everyone, let's go back."

"Right, c'mon puppy," Shak said leading the puppy after him as everyone started walking away. Everyone finally came back into the main town, there was a commotion surrounding a large water fountain with a crowd.

The gang walked over to see what was going on, they all walked past the crowd to see a horrifying sight. The body of a civilian hung on the top of the fountain, with the pillar going through the civilian's stomach as it bled yellow blood down into the unstained water.

Steven stepped back holding his vomit in, it smelled disgusting and looked horrifying. Everyone surrounding him was terrified. With Civilians crying and yelling.

"Did they commit suicide?!" A stranger cried.

"This is disgusting, why..." Another said.

"This doesn't make sense! He was a good man!" Then another cried.

Chris turned around looking at the crowd, He stepped into the fountain to stand in the middle, beside the hanging body.

"EVERYONE CALM DOWN!" Chris yelled. "DOES ANYONE KNOW WHEN THIS TOOK PLACE?"

"It only happened a few minutes ago!" A stranger cried. "We don't know how he got up there!"

"He was a carpenter who was known for always having a smile on his face." A stranger stated. "I- I don't know why he would've committed suicide!" The stranger said before breaking down into tears.

"Shit... this happened while we were gone." Steven thought falling on his knees to the ground. "If only! If only we could've saved him!"

"Pick your head back up Steven," Shak said standing in front of Steven. "We'll find the son of a bitch who did this," Shak said reaching his arm out to Steven.

Steven stared up and grabbed his hand, pulling himself back up. Steven felt a bit more confident, but he was confused. Why was his blood yellow like the demons? His corpse didn't look like a demon at all. Why would he commit suicide? Those were the questions that rang in Steven's head.

"Excuse me, everyone," A man said walking through the crowd. He held a syringe in his hand and climbed the fountain.

"Uhm, what are you doing, and who are you?" Chris asked.

The man stuck a syringe in the body taking a sample of the yellow blood. And faced Chris, climbing back down.

He wore a black crow mask and a purple top hat, as well as a purple-colored sweater long coat. and black shoes. He wore a black T-shirt and black cargo pants.

He took a card out of his coat and handed it to Chris before walking away with the syringe. Chris looked down at the card and it read "Doctor Cordinal Stone."

"Wait! You're a doctor?" Chris said chasing after the man who was walking away. The man paused and turned his head.

"Why Yes." He said in a soft mannered voice.

"Steven, Hiroshi, Shak! Come!" Chris yelled into the crowd. The three and the puppy walked out of the crowd following Chris and the man. The man stepped into a building that appeared to be his working space. The sign on the building read "Doctor Cordinal's Research Lab." And everyone walked in. The furniture was very vintage, and everything consisted of leather and rich material. The doctor hung his coat on a Coat rack and walked into a room.

He walked into his office and the puppy and the four boys followed inside. Inside his office was a desk and a workspace that seemed to be a lab. There were a lot of test tubes and machines scattered throughout the lab. The doctor took a seat at his desk in front of the four boys.

"Well, how may I help you, boys?" The Doctor asked.

"We were wondering if you had any knowledge about this weird yellow blood," Chris said. "We happened to murder a demon with the same blood."

"I see, so you boys know about the weird blood too." The Doctor said. "And judging by the weapons you four are carrying, you four are swordsmen am I correct?"

"Uhm, yes," Hiroshi answered. "We just slay demons."

"You see, for the past two weeks I've been trying to study the yellow liquid, but it seems to lose its properties after a few minutes, returning to red blood." The doctor stated. "I am not fast enough to collect these samples, so I want you to ask you four for a favor."

"And that is?" Chris asked.

"I'll give you four special syringes that keep the yellow substance safe." The Doctor said. "Every time you kill a demon with the yellow blood, I want you to collect the blood as soon as possible."

"And what do we get for exchange..." Steven said with a greedy tone.

"Information of course, once you're finished collecting samples, I'll study them and tell you everything."

"NO MONEY?!" Steven yelled collapsing to the floor.

"Well, knowledge is the best reward." The doctor stated. "Anyways, you can go to that counter and grab a handful of Syringes."

"Okay, let's go everyone," Chris said dragging Steven by the leg. They all followed Chris to the counter and grabbed a handful of syringes, except for the puppy and Steven who was still throwing a tantrum on the floor. They all waved goodbye at the doctor and exited the lab, heading outside.

"What now?" Shak said holding the puppy. "I'm bored."

"I have an apartment with two rooms nearby here," Chris said. "Let's go."

And the five-headed out, with Steven still being dragged by Chris on the concrete floor.

"I WANT MONEY!!!" Steven screamed.

"If you don't stop throwing a tantrum, I'll KICK YOU!!!" Chris yelled.

"YO-YOUR SO MEAN!!!" Steven continued whining.

"Geez, I didn't know you acted like a child Steven..." Hiroshi said.

"WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" Steven yelled.